From The Gift -
Chapter 1
Screaming children wreaked havoc in the toy store, and their cries of laughter rang straight through Tobias Stone’s ears.
Not much excited him these days but it was hard not to get caught up in their excitement, hard not to feel their joy, hard not to hear their high-pitched shrieks. Hard to dismiss the wonder on their faces as they played with the display toys and stared wide-eyed at the shiny new boxes that were displayed so enticingly on the shelves.
It made him feel better about himself and made Christmas more bearable to know that he was spreading a little happiness. Or rather, his foundation was. The huge toy store had been closed to the public for the evening while the Tobias Stone Foundation invited children from the city’s adoption centers to visit the department store and select a toy of their choice.
But he was also aware that he’d had to miss an important meeting that had suddenly come up. Luckily, Matthias was standing in for him but he would need to return to the office soon. His multi-million dollar hedge fund didn’t stop running just because Christmas was coming.
His eyes darted around the place, and he glanced at his watch again, getting anxious and needing to leave. Contemplating his escape, he looked towards the exit and saw a child peering through the glass doors.
“I’m going,” he told Candace, his hard-as-nails assistant.
“Not yet, Tobias. It’s barely been an hour. Smile.” She flashed him her false one. “At least make it look as if you’re having a good time.”
“I am having a good time but I’m in the middle of important negotiations, in case you’d forgotten.”
It was all very well hosting an evening for these children—and it made him feel good about himself for a change— but he still had a business to run.
“People need to see your face, Tobias. It’s good publicity for you to be seen mixing with all sorts of people—especially these poor kids at a time like Christmas. It adds credibility to your philanthropy.”
He didn’t mind giving his wealth away. If anything, he thrived on it and there was no way that he was going to get through his millions in his lifetime. He liked to think that he didn’t spend too extravagantly, but he had the usual billionaire playthings—luxurious properties around the world, a private jet and a private island, to mention a few.
Even though he enjoyed the finer things in life, he worked damn hard and preferred to remain low-key, as much as was possible for a man with his wealth and history.
While giving away his wealth made him happy, making money did too.
“If we could just have a few shots of you with the children, sir,” said the photographer herding a group of children together and leading them towards him.
“What a brilliant idea,” agreed Candace and took his arm. “How about near the tree?” She led him over to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree lit up with warm, golden-colored lights.
“Smile, everyone,” the photographer ordered.
“Is this necessary?” Tobias asked, giving the man a tight-lipped smile.
“Smile,” said Candace, through her gritted teeth. Tobias obliged as a group of young children, barely reaching his waist, gathered around him as though he was Santa Claus.
“You are so kind, Mr. Stone,” gushed one of the women from the adoption centers. “It is so very generous of you, taking the time to give these children a Christmas present.”
He nodded at her, barely hiding his look of unease. Being thanked for doing something like this made him uncomfortable.
“Would you mind if we had a photograph taken together? People will be so much more interested to read it if they see your picture.” She smiled at him sweetly. “Vanessa? Hurry up!” She called out to her colleague, another matronly woman who looked as though she’d be more at home baking pies.
Tobias returned a fast smile, conscious of time slipping away. It would be the morning of the next day in Hong Kong and he was anxious to sit in on the negotiations.
“Thank you, ladies, but I really must leave.” He broke away from the group, determined to disappear before Candace asked him to do something else. She was like a fiery Doberman, silky, fast, super alert and she made sure he was seen in the right places with the right people at the right time.
“You’re still making the most eligible bachelor lists,” she told him. But he had no interest in these things. He preferred to pay for sex, seeing it as nothing more than a transaction which required payment. There was no emotional attachment that way.
“I’m leaving,” he growled; he’d been here an hour already but as he turned around and headed towards the exit, he saw the same child still peering in. “Has nobody let him in?” he muttered, striding towards the large glass doors of the store.
“It’s a win-win deal, Tobias,” Candace had told him. “You buy those poor kids a toy and come out looking like a saint.” Tobias grimaced at the thought. He wasn’t a saint. Not by a long shot.
But that wasn’t the reason he’d gone along with her idea of giving Christmas gifts to children less fortunate. He’d done it because for the longest time he’d hated Christmas and had avoided the festivities. Christmas was about being with loved ones and Tobias was alone.
It could have all been so different.
This had been the second year they had run this event, and this year he’d even looked forward to it. But he was now anxious to return to the office because he didn’t have much else to occupy him. His millions couldn’t buy him peace, love or happiness, though whiskey and Naomi made the world tolerable.
He walked up to the door and the sight of the child looking through the glass, wide-eyed with wonder, reminded him of himself; of how he’d been at that age. He had been dirt poor once and remembered the time when he used to stare at other kids who had the things he never had.
“Where are you going?” Candace tottered up on her heels behind him.
“I’m letting him in.”
“But we’re closed to the public this—”
“Where the fuck is his mother?” Tobias snarled. The security guard nodded at him as Tobias flung the door wide open and peered at the child who stared back at him with fear in his eyes.
Immediately, his hardness melted. “Do you want to come inside?”
The child’s body language perfectly illustrated his dilemma. One foot was poised as if he was ready to enter but his solemn face indicated no immediate desire to make a move.
“Don’t just stand there,” Tobias said. “If you want to come in, then come in.” He looked around for signs of the boy’s parents and saw a woman with her back to the child, talking on her cellphone. She turned around just at that moment, her gaze landing on the child, before moving to him. She rushed towards them and stopped at the door, just behind the boy. The child stared at his mother but said nothing.
“Jacob, we can’t go inside,” the woman said.
“Can I have just one look? Please, Mommy?”
Tobias watched the exchange; the woman appeared to waver and then stared at Tobias.
“Are you open?” she asked him.
“Yes.” He pulled the door wide open and moved away.
“Pleeeease, Mommy? Just a look?”
The woman appeared to consider it. And the longer she took, the more the child’s anticipation grew. It annoyed the heck out of Tobias.
“Why don’t you let him in and put the kid out of his misery?” He gave her the once-over, taking in her scuffed shoes and the huge tear in her stockings.
“He’s not miserable,” she retorted, fast as lightning.
“He doesn’t look too happy to me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ten minutes, Jacob. No more.” The boy smiled so brightly that it brought a smile to Tobias’s tight expression.
He remembered that look and wished he still could feel that level of excitement about anything. Even winning new deals and reaching the next milestone in his business had lost its sparkle.
Nothing mattered much, anymore.
Christmas, with its gaudy commercialism, packaged and dressed up in dazzling bright baubles and sparkling lights, had lost its allure for him years ago because now it reminded him of the life he could have had. He would still have been insanely successful, disgustingly rich, but he’d have had someone to share his wealth with.
Now he carried too many memories of the wrong kind.
He watched as the woman—the boy’s mother, he presumed—stepped aside warily and looked around the store. Candace sidled up to him. “We’re not open to the public, Tobias,” she seethed. “You can’t just let any strays in. This is specifically for kids from the adoption centers.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied, noting that the boy wore a coat that was obviously one size too small for him.
The boy’s mother walked up to them. “Is something going on in the store?”
“We’re not open to the public,” Candace replied.
“You’re not? I’m sorry, we’ll leave.”
Tobias walked over to the boy who was happily sitting on the floor playing with an Iron Man figure and a fighter jet.
“So you like Iron Man, huh?” Tobias asked, crouching down.
The boy nodded. He held the fighter jet in one hand and the figurine in the other.
“Did you write your letter to Santa?”
“Yes.”
“What did you ask for?”
“Coloring books.”
“Coloring books?” asked Tobias in surprise. “So you must already have an Iron Man?”
The boy shook his head.
“Would you like to have Iron Man?”
The boy stared down silently and shrugged.
“Did you know that tonight is a very special night?” Tobias asked, eager to get the boy talking. “You can pick anything you want from here and it will appear under your tree on Christmas Day.”
The boy frowned as he stared back at Tobias. “You’re not Santa.”
“No. I’m not, and I’m sure you’ll get your coloring books from him. But, see all of these children here?” Tobias waved his hand around. “They’re all going to pick a toy and they get to open it on Christmas Day. You can, too.”
The boy looked at the floor again, as if he didn’t trust Tobias. Just then Tobias’s cell phone rang and he answered it, standing up slowly.
It was Matthias. “It’s not going too well. You should get back to the office. There are a few things we need to discuss.”
“I’m coming,” replied Tobias and watched as the woman rushed over to her son and told him they had to go. He hung up and walked back to Candace. “Why did you do that?” he growled at her. “How much trouble is one extra child going to be?”
“If you let one in, you won’t be able to stop the rest.”
Tobias didn’t care too much for Candace’s opinion. He was too busy staring at the child. He saw the boy’s face drop, saw him leave the toys he’d been playing with and get up slowly.
“Fucking ridiculous,” he hissed under his breath, then walked over to the mother and son. “You should let the poor kid stay,” he told the boy’s mother.
“He’s not a poor kid,” the woman threw back.
“Well, it certainly looks to me as if he doesn’t want to leave just yet.”
“That other woman told us we had to—”
Fucking Candace. “I don’t care what she said,” Tobias snapped, a little too angrily.
“Tobias, let me handle this.” He felt a tightness in his chest as Candace suddenly appeared by his side again.
She put on what he now knew to be her best and most false, over-the-top persona and explained, “Tonight is a charity event hosted by the Tobias Stone Foundation for a few of the city’s adoption centers. This store is closed to the public for a few hours. Why don’t you come back tomorrow? You can shop all you want then.”
Tobias ground down on his teeth. If he lost his temper now, it would give the wrong type of publicity for the Stone Empire. Before he had a chance to say anything to his PA, the boy suddenly spoke up. “I saw you on TV,” he said shyly.
“I don’t think you did, honey.” The boy’s mother gave Tobias an apologetic look.
“I did, Mom. He was on TV.” For the first time Tobias tried to hold back a smile. The woman slipped her hand through the boy’s. “Come on,” she said, obviously not believing a word. “Let’s go.”
“I did, Mom.” The boy turned to him. “You were on TV, weren’t you?”
But the woman appeared to be in a hurry. “I’m sure you saw him, honey. Come on. We need to get back.”
Tobias watched as they walked out of the store. Just outside the door, the woman bent down and pulled something out of her bag then handed it to the boy. When the boy put it to his mouth, Tobias realized it was an inhaler.
He glared at his assistant. “Was that really necessary?”
